Also in WSJ.com:

Crisis in Ukraine

The European Union is far from easing sanctions on Russia because of the persistent tensions in eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Monday, as officials said clashes left at least 12 dead in some of the worst violence since a cease-fire signed earlier this month.

Corruption Currents: Mountain of Evidence Points to Russian Doping

By Samuel Rubenfeld

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

Top former executives at a pharmaceutical company were arrested on charges they bribed doctors and defrauded insurance companies. The company said the arrests related to previously disclosed allegations. (Vice, WSJ)

A U.N. court said it lacked jurisdiction to prevent France from charging the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president with money laundering. Equatorial Guinea said it was “satisfied” with the ruling. (Reuters, press release)

A mountain of evidence showed widespread doping by Russian athletes. The IOC already had extended its punishments until further notice. The whistleblower, who won a German prize, said she isn’t a traitor. There’s no evidence of a link to Vladimir Putin. (NY Times, AFP, DW, Reuters, AFP)

Senators Urge Trump to Provide Lethal Aid to Ukraine

By Felicia Schwartz

A bipartisan group of senators called on President-elect Donald Trump in a letter Thursday to increase U.S. support to Ukraine and stand up to Russia’s aggressive behavior.

The 12 Republicans and 15 Democrats urged Mr. Trump to provide lethal military aid to Ukraine and to continue sanctions on Russia for moving to annex Crimea as well as for its destabilizing actions in Eastern Ukraine.

“This conflict in the heart of Europe is far from over,” the senators wrote. “These actions in Crimea and other areas of eastern Ukraine dangerously upend well-established diplomatic, legal, and security norms.”

The Republicans who signed the letter include the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz,), along with Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), a former Republican presidential candidate, and Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), who recently met with senior officials in Mr. Trump’s transition team. Mr. Portman and Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.,) led the effort.

The presidential transition team didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, but Mr. Trump while campaigning offered praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged closer cooperation with Moscow, particularly in the Middle East.

The senators said in the letter that they wanted to ensure that U.S. allies don’t question Washington’s commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the global security framework.

“We believe that Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea should never be accepted, nor should we lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine until key provisions of the Minsk Agreement are met,” they wrote, referring to a ceasefire agreement reached in 2015 that has yet to be fully implemented. “U.S. leadership on maintaining such transatlantic sanctions should remain a priority.”

The Obama administration has provided Ukraine with tens of millions of dollars of nonlethal aid but hasn’t given the country weapons or munitions.

Mr. Trump’s views toward Russia have rattled lawmakers, diplomats and Obama administration officials as relations between the former Cold War foes hit a low point after Russia’s actions in Ukraine, followed by failed efforts to cooperate in Syria and what U.S. officials charge were Russian attempts to interfere with U.S. elections.

“If we got along well, that would be good,” Mr. Trump said in the third presidential debate. “If Russia and the United States got along well and went after ISIS, that would be good,” he said, referring to Islamic State.

Mr. Trump’s pick for National Security Adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has urged closer relations with Russia. One of Mr. Trump’s potential picks for secretary of state, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has spoken against U.S. sanctions on Russia.

Mr. Tillerson in 2011 struck a deal that granted Exxon access to prized Arctic resources in Russia, but the deal was later blocked by sanctions by the U.S. and its allies imposed on Russia after the start of the Ukraine conflict.

Senators Urge Trump to Provide Lethal Aid to Ukraine

By Felicia Schwartz

A bipartisan group of senators called on President-elect Donald Trump in a letter Thursday to increase U.S. support to Ukraine and stand up to Russia’s aggressive behavior.

The 12 Republicans and 15 Democrats urged Mr. Trump to provide lethal military aid to Ukraine and to continue sanctions on Russia for moving to annex Crimea as well as for its destabilizing actions in Eastern Ukraine.

“This conflict in the heart of Europe is far from over,” the senators wrote. “These actions in Crimea and other areas of eastern Ukraine dangerously upend well-established diplomatic, legal, and security norms.”

The Republicans who signed the letter include the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz,), along with Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), a former Republican presidential candidate, and Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), who recently met with senior officials in Mr. Trump’s transition team. Mr. Portman and Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.,) led the effort.

The presidential transition team didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, but Mr. Trump while campaigning offered praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged closer cooperation with Moscow, particularly in the Middle East.

The senators said in the letter that they wanted to ensure that U.S. allies don’t question Washington’s commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the global security framework.

“We believe that Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea should never be accepted, nor should we lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine until key provisions of the Minsk Agreement are met,” they wrote, referring to a ceasefire agreement reached in 2015 that has yet to be fully implemented. “U.S. leadership on maintaining such transatlantic sanctions should remain a priority.”

The Obama administration has provided Ukraine with tens of millions of dollars of nonlethal aid but hasn’t given the country weapons or munitions.

Mr. Trump’s views toward Russia have rattled lawmakers, diplomats and Obama administration officials as relations between the former Cold War foes hit a low point after Russia’s actions in Ukraine, followed by failed efforts to cooperate in Syria and what U.S. officials charge were Russian attempts to interfere with U.S. elections.

“If we got along well, that would be good,” Mr. Trump said in the third presidential debate. “If Russia and the United States got along well and went after ISIS, that would be good,” he said, referring to Islamic State.

Mr. Trump’s pick for National Security Adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has urged closer relations with Russia. One of Mr. Trump’s potential picks for secretary of state, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has spoken against U.S. sanctions on Russia.

Mr. Tillerson in 2011 struck a deal that granted Exxon access to prized Arctic resources in Russia, but the deal was later blocked by sanctions by the U.S. and its allies imposed on Russia after the start of the Ukraine conflict.

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

A plea deal for Odebrecht and its executives continues to face delays. (Folha)

Systemic weaknesses allow for bribery to thrive in Pakistan, an anti-graft official said. (Nation Pakistan, The News)

Cybercrime:

Germany’s top spy cautioned that Russian hackers may seek to disrupt national elections next year, the intelligence chief said. (Washington Post)

The FBI will gain hacking powers after a last-ditch effort to stop them failed. It used a “non-public” vulnerability to target users of Tor when investigating child pornography. (Bloomberg, Reuters, Motherboard, Motherboard)

Raids on arms smugglers in the Arabian sea revealed weapons also seized from the Houthis in Yemen, suggesting a link between Iranian suppliers and the group under sanctions. (Reuters, Washington Post)

Transparency:

Panama Papers: Pakistan’s government told the supreme court it’s serious about investigating links to the leak. (The Hindu, The News)

Ukrainian anti-graft watchdogs switched their position on whether the president should have declared ownership in a Spanish villa. (RFE/RL)

General Anti-Corruption:

Mr. Trump’s lease of a former U.S. Post office, which he converted into a hotel, is his latest conflict-of-interest problem. The government of Bahrain plans to host an event at the hotel, sparking concerns. (Government Executive, NPR, Quartz, Politico)

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

A plea deal for Odebrecht and its executives continues to face delays. (Folha)

Systemic weaknesses allow for bribery to thrive in Pakistan, an anti-graft official said. (Nation Pakistan, The News)

Cybercrime:

Germany’s top spy cautioned that Russian hackers may seek to disrupt national elections next year, the intelligence chief said. (Washington Post)

The FBI will gain hacking powers after a last-ditch effort to stop them failed. It used a “non-public” vulnerability to target users of Tor when investigating child pornography. (Bloomberg, Reuters, Motherboard, Motherboard)

Raids on arms smugglers in the Arabian sea revealed weapons also seized from the Houthis in Yemen, suggesting a link between Iranian suppliers and the group under sanctions. (Reuters, Washington Post)

Transparency:

Panama Papers: Pakistan’s government told the supreme court it’s serious about investigating links to the leak. (The Hindu, The News)

Ukrainian anti-graft watchdogs switched their position on whether the president should have declared ownership in a Spanish villa. (RFE/RL)

General Anti-Corruption:

Mr. Trump’s lease of a former U.S. Post office, which he converted into a hotel, is his latest conflict-of-interest problem. The government of Bahrain plans to host an event at the hotel, sparking concerns. (Government Executive, NPR, Quartz, Politico)

Corruption Currents: Taliban Faces Cash Crunch

By Samuel Rubenfeld

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

The SFO expanded its inquiry into Rolls-Royce to look at alleged bribery in Iraq, according to legal papers filed in its case against Unaoil. (Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald)

Bio-Rad plans to argue in court that its former general counsel, who says he was fired for investigating potential FCPA violations in China, faked the concerns to save his job. (Law360)

Peru agreed to extradite a soccer official to face charges in the U.S. in the FIFA scandal. (Reuters)

The president of Bayern Munich was re-elected after serving prison time for tax evasion. (NY Times)

The Filpino president said corrupt business executives are next on his target list. (Inquirer)

It may be impossible to know if Mr. Trump’s foreign business deals violate the Constitution. The company’s sprawl could cause more problems than its strength, though activists are concerned. (ProPublica, Vox, Economist, Roll Call)

A K-Pop star was charged in the South Korean corruption scandal. (BBC, AFP)

Ukraine named a 23-year-old to lead its anti-graft office as the EU told the country to fight corruption. (DW, BBC)

Corruption and bad policies are strangling South Africa. The president beat a vote of no-confidence but blamed it on a Western plot. (Economist, Bloomberg)

Corruption Currents: Taliban Faces Cash Crunch

By Samuel Rubenfeld

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

The SFO expanded its inquiry into Rolls-Royce to look at alleged bribery in Iraq, according to legal papers filed in its case against Unaoil. (Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald)

Bio-Rad plans to argue in court that its former general counsel, who says he was fired for investigating potential FCPA violations in China, faked the concerns to save his job. (Law360)

Peru agreed to extradite a soccer official to face charges in the U.S. in the FIFA scandal. (Reuters)

The president of Bayern Munich was re-elected after serving prison time for tax evasion. (NY Times)

The Filpino president said corrupt business executives are next on his target list. (Inquirer)

It may be impossible to know if Mr. Trump’s foreign business deals violate the Constitution. The company’s sprawl could cause more problems than its strength, though activists are concerned. (ProPublica, Vox, Economist, Roll Call)

A K-Pop star was charged in the South Korean corruption scandal. (BBC, AFP)

Ukraine named a 23-year-old to lead its anti-graft office as the EU told the country to fight corruption. (DW, BBC)

Corruption and bad policies are strangling South Africa. The president beat a vote of no-confidence but blamed it on a Western plot. (Economist, Bloomberg)

Ukraine’s Political “Frenemies” Seek To Avoid 2005-Style Split

The two most important politicians in Ukraine are “fren​emies,” one of them said in an interview in Brussels this week—a delicate love-hate relationship on which the future of the state depends.

Out of power for s​even ​months, former Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has been made a kind of traveling ambassador-to-the West by the man who fired him, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

​T​he election of Donald Trump and his promise to forge a new partnership with Russia has created deep uncertainty in Kiev about the future level of support the country can expect by the U.S.

And it is a dangerous time for Ukraine. Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists. Politically, Yulia Tymoshenko, a former ally of Mr. Yatsenyuk, is trying to launch a comeback, leading protests against high energy bills and bank failures.

Mr. Yatsenyuk’s message to western leaders is to stay the course. He has visited U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, German Chancellor in Angela Merkel in Berlin and was again in Brussels this week to see top European Union officials.

“My message to the global leaders is as follows. Look, we are still doing our jobs. Ukraine needs to be on your radars,” he said. “We do understand that you guys have a number of troubles… But please do not abandon us,” he said.

Mr. Yatsenyuk said Mr. Poroshenko would be wise to tread carefully with Mr. Trump, setting out Ukraine’s case against Russia’s interference in Ukraine and offering options for co-operation. He believes that ultimately, Mr. Trump will learn for himself the limits of working with Mr. Putin.

“Russia and the United States were, are and will be adversaries,” he said.

Mr. Yatsenyuk and Mr. Poroshenko are strong rivals, or in the former prime minister’s words “very, very strong frenemies.”

“Look, he is a smart guy,” Mr. Yatsenyuk said of Mr. Poroshenko. “Sometimes…he behaves like a tank — just moving forward. But you need always to have in your mind that there is an anti-tank missile out there,” he says.

The uneasy relations between Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Yatsenyuk started the day after the president’s bloc failed to secure a parliamentary majority in 2014.

There were echoes, immediately with the demise of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine a decade before. A disastrous fracture in 2005 between then-President Victor Yushchenko and his former ally Ms. Tymoshenko heralded years of political acrimony which ended in the eclipse of the pro-western government in Ukraine. In 2010, Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian candidate whom Mr. Yuschchenko had defeated in 2004, won the presidency.

Mr. Yatsenyuk said he was committed to avoidng a repeat of 2005. But for a time that is just what seemed to be happening.

Tensions spilled over in late 2015. Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Yatsenyuk were losing popularity and facing growing pressure from western backers and domestic opponents to tackle corruption and re-energize the economy.

Mr. Poroshenko’s team was trying to push Mr. Yatsenyuk out, risking a split in the pro-western camp.

Mr. Yatsenyuk was attacked in parliament – lifted from the podium – by a lawmaker from the president’s bloc, triggering a parliamentary brawl. Days later, a fractious cabinet meeting ended with Ukraine’s interior minister throwing water into the face of the former Odessa governor, the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.

This time, things took a different turn than in 2005. Mr. Yatsenyuk quit in April but helped deliver the votes for a new government led by the president’s long-time aide Volodymyr Groysman. Avoiding snap elections, Mr. Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front bloc stayed in government, retaining six seats in Mr. Groysman’s cabinet.

Despite tensions and strains, Ukraine has since taken modest but politically difficult steps to rein in corruption and improve the economy.

Seven months after resigning, Mr. Yatsenyuk, who oversaw a government that prevented default amid a war and currency crisis but became deeply unpopular because of falling living standards and a perceived lack of progress in tackling corruption, notes the “huge political price” he paid for pushing unpopular measures. However the 42 year old, a close aide and top minister under Mr. Yushchenko in the 2000s, said his duty this spring was clear.

Mr. Yatsenyuk said his premiership under Mr. Poroshenko was an “extremely complicated and difficult co-habitation.” But he noted it lasted longer and was far more productive than the first Yushchenko-Tymoshenko collaboration. That experience, he said, “entirely undermined Ukraine’s reputation.”

“I could not dare to let it happen once again,” he said.

“My biggest concern was not to make a replica of relations between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko,” he said. “Because, you know there was no winner after this. The only winner was Mr. Yanukovych and…Russians.”

Ukraine’s Political “Frenemies” Seek To Avoid 2005-Style Split

The two most important politicians in Ukraine are “fren​emies,” one of them said in an interview in Brussels this week—a delicate love-hate relationship on which the future of the state depends.

Out of power for s​even ​months, former Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has been made a kind of traveling ambassador-to-the West by the man who fired him, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

​T​he election of Donald Trump and his promise to forge a new partnership with Russia has created deep uncertainty in Kiev about the future level of support the country can expect by the U.S.

And it is a dangerous time for Ukraine. Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists. Politically, Yulia Tymoshenko, a former ally of Mr. Yatsenyuk, is trying to launch a comeback, leading protests against high energy bills and bank failures.

Mr. Yatsenyuk’s message to western leaders is to stay the course. He has visited U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, German Chancellor in Angela Merkel in Berlin and was again in Brussels this week to see top European Union officials.

“My message to the global leaders is as follows. Look, we are still doing our jobs. Ukraine needs to be on your radars,” he said. “We do understand that you guys have a number of troubles… But please do not abandon us,” he said.

Mr. Yatsenyuk said Mr. Poroshenko would be wise to tread carefully with Mr. Trump, setting out Ukraine’s case against Russia’s interference in Ukraine and offering options for co-operation. He believes that ultimately, Mr. Trump will learn for himself the limits of working with Mr. Putin.

“Russia and the United States were, are and will be adversaries,” he said.

Mr. Yatsenyuk and Mr. Poroshenko are strong rivals, or in the former prime minister’s words “very, very strong frenemies.”

“Look, he is a smart guy,” Mr. Yatsenyuk said of Mr. Poroshenko. “Sometimes…he behaves like a tank — just moving forward. But you need always to have in your mind that there is an anti-tank missile out there,” he says.

The uneasy relations between Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Yatsenyuk started the day after the president’s bloc failed to secure a parliamentary majority in 2014.

There were echoes, immediately with the demise of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine a decade before. A disastrous fracture in 2005 between then-President Victor Yushchenko and his former ally Ms. Tymoshenko heralded years of political acrimony which ended in the eclipse of the pro-western government in Ukraine. In 2010, Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian candidate whom Mr. Yuschchenko had defeated in 2004, won the presidency.

Mr. Yatsenyuk said he was committed to avoidng a repeat of 2005. But for a time that is just what seemed to be happening.

Tensions spilled over in late 2015. Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Yatsenyuk were losing popularity and facing growing pressure from western backers and domestic opponents to tackle corruption and re-energize the economy.

Mr. Poroshenko’s team was trying to push Mr. Yatsenyuk out, risking a split in the pro-western camp.

Mr. Yatsenyuk was attacked in parliament – lifted from the podium – by a lawmaker from the president’s bloc, triggering a parliamentary brawl. Days later, a fractious cabinet meeting ended with Ukraine’s interior minister throwing water into the face of the former Odessa governor, the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.

This time, things took a different turn than in 2005. Mr. Yatsenyuk quit in April but helped deliver the votes for a new government led by the president’s long-time aide Volodymyr Groysman. Avoiding snap elections, Mr. Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front bloc stayed in government, retaining six seats in Mr. Groysman’s cabinet.

Despite tensions and strains, Ukraine has since taken modest but politically difficult steps to rein in corruption and improve the economy.

Seven months after resigning, Mr. Yatsenyuk, who oversaw a government that prevented default amid a war and currency crisis but became deeply unpopular because of falling living standards and a perceived lack of progress in tackling corruption, notes the “huge political price” he paid for pushing unpopular measures. However the 42 year old, a close aide and top minister under Mr. Yushchenko in the 2000s, said his duty this spring was clear.

Mr. Yatsenyuk said his premiership under Mr. Poroshenko was an “extremely complicated and difficult co-habitation.” But he noted it lasted longer and was far more productive than the first Yushchenko-Tymoshenko collaboration. That experience, he said, “entirely undermined Ukraine’s reputation.”

“I could not dare to let it happen once again,” he said.

“My biggest concern was not to make a replica of relations between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko,” he said. “Because, you know there was no winner after this. The only winner was Mr. Yanukovych and…Russians.”

Ukrainian President Says Trump Won’t Change U.S. Backing for Country

By Laurence Norman

BRUSSELS—Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he doesn’t believe the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will change Washington’s backing for the country, saying Mr. Trump had raised with him Russian “aggression” against Ukraine and its illegal annexation of Crimea.

Mr. Poroshenko was speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday after a meeting with European Union leaders, who pledged fresh economic and political backing for Ukraine and indicated that, regardless of any shift in policy in Washington, the bloc will stand by the economic sanctions it imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr. Poroshenko’s administration is increasingly unpopular at home and Mr. Trump’s victory in the presidential election this month has raised questions about the longevity of Western support for Kiev.

EU officials had said before Thursday’s meeting they wanted to be seen as bolstering Mr. Poroshenko and his government and would seek to accelerate key EU agreements and pledges to Ukraine in coming weeks.

Mr. Poroshenko was asked about concerns that Mr. Trump would weaken support for Ukraine in a bid to strengthen ties with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader spoke by telephone to Mr. Trump last week. He said Thursday they had a detailed conversation in which Mr. Poroshenko gave the U.S. president-elect a rundown of the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and pro-Russia separatists.

“I can confirm you that the question of Russian aggression, (and the) illegal annexation of Crimea was raised by President-elect Trump,” he said.

Speaking alongside Mr. Poroshenko, European Council President Donald Tusk said that during a telephone conversation with Mr. Trump last Friday, the president-elect’s comments about Ukraine were “at least promising compared with some announcements during the campaign time.”

During the presidential election, Mr. Trump talked repeatedly about improving ties with Russia and appeared to play down the significance of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and what Western countries have said was Moscow’s backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

During Thursday’s discussions, the EU promised progress on a series of initiatives that Mr. Poroshenko has been pushing for months.

The two sides signed an updated energy pact that states that Ukraine should remain a key transit country for the delivery of Russian gas to Europe.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that once Ukraine completes a legislative change to allow the export of lumber products, the EU is ready to disburse the next tranche—worth €600 million ($636 million)—to Kiev. That will be the second tranche of a total earmarked loan of €1.8 billion.

Mr. Juncker also said he expects the EU to approve by the end of the year one of the key requests of Mr. Poroshenko’s government—visa-free entry for Ukrainian tourists to the bloc.

Mr. Tusk said he believed the EU would decide ahead of next month’s meeting of EU leaders to roll over broad economic sanctions on Russia. The current measures expire in late January.

Ukraine has “many friends here, and I can promise you that you will not be left behind,” said Mr. Tusk. “We also have our limitations, but we will continue in our efforts to fulfill your justified expectations.”

Still, without the U.S., Europe’s backing for Ukraine would face constraints.

There has been growing unease about EU financial assistance for Ukraine, which has faced continued accusations of widespread corruption. That was a key factor in the Dutch referendum vote not to approve a wide-ranging EU-Ukraine pact.

Moreover, a number of EU governments remain deeply skeptical about sanctions on Russia. EU officials acknowledge that if Mr. Trump moves to ease U.S. sanctions on Kiev, the bloc could struggle to remain united behind its own measures.

Ukrainian President Says Trump Won’t Change U.S. Backing for Country

By Laurence Norman

BRUSSELS—Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he doesn’t believe the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will change Washington’s backing for the country, saying Mr. Trump had raised with him Russian “aggression” against Ukraine and its illegal annexation of Crimea.

Mr. Poroshenko was speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday after a meeting with European Union leaders, who pledged fresh economic and political backing for Ukraine and indicated that, regardless of any shift in policy in Washington, the bloc will stand by the economic sanctions it imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr. Poroshenko’s administration is increasingly unpopular at home and Mr. Trump’s victory in the presidential election this month has raised questions about the longevity of Western support for Kiev.

EU officials had said before Thursday’s meeting they wanted to be seen as bolstering Mr. Poroshenko and his government and would seek to accelerate key EU agreements and pledges to Ukraine in coming weeks.

Mr. Poroshenko was asked about concerns that Mr. Trump would weaken support for Ukraine in a bid to strengthen ties with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader spoke by telephone to Mr. Trump last week. He said Thursday they had a detailed conversation in which Mr. Poroshenko gave the U.S. president-elect a rundown of the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and pro-Russia separatists.

“I can confirm you that the question of Russian aggression, (and the) illegal annexation of Crimea was raised by President-elect Trump,” he said.

Speaking alongside Mr. Poroshenko, European Council President Donald Tusk said that during a telephone conversation with Mr. Trump last Friday, the president-elect’s comments about Ukraine were “at least promising compared with some announcements during the campaign time.”

During the presidential election, Mr. Trump talked repeatedly about improving ties with Russia and appeared to play down the significance of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and what Western countries have said was Moscow’s backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

During Thursday’s discussions, the EU promised progress on a series of initiatives that Mr. Poroshenko has been pushing for months.

The two sides signed an updated energy pact that states that Ukraine should remain a key transit country for the delivery of Russian gas to Europe.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that once Ukraine completes a legislative change to allow the export of lumber products, the EU is ready to disburse the next tranche—worth €600 million ($636 million)—to Kiev. That will be the second tranche of a total earmarked loan of €1.8 billion.

Mr. Juncker also said he expects the EU to approve by the end of the year one of the key requests of Mr. Poroshenko’s government—visa-free entry for Ukrainian tourists to the bloc.

Mr. Tusk said he believed the EU would decide ahead of next month’s meeting of EU leaders to roll over broad economic sanctions on Russia. The current measures expire in late January.

Ukraine has “many friends here, and I can promise you that you will not be left behind,” said Mr. Tusk. “We also have our limitations, but we will continue in our efforts to fulfill your justified expectations.”

Still, without the U.S., Europe’s backing for Ukraine would face constraints.

There has been growing unease about EU financial assistance for Ukraine, which has faced continued accusations of widespread corruption. That was a key factor in the Dutch referendum vote not to approve a wide-ranging EU-Ukraine pact.

Moreover, a number of EU governments remain deeply skeptical about sanctions on Russia. EU officials acknowledge that if Mr. Trump moves to ease U.S. sanctions on Kiev, the bloc could struggle to remain united behind its own measures.

Corruption Currents: BP Ring-Fences CEO Out of Potential Iran Deals

By Samuel Rubenfeld

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

A former U.S. Naval attaché admitted to taking bribes in the “Fat Leonard” case. (AP)

Local coverage of the recent Transparency International report on Europe and the former Soviet states is available from Switzerland, Bulgaria, Turkey and more. (Swissinfo, Sofia Globe, Hurriyet, RFE/RL)

Money Laundering:

Indian authorities filed a money laundering case linked to alleged kickbacks in an Embraer helicopter deal. The company said it wasn’t party to the related proceedings, but it voluntarily expanded its internal investigation. (Hindustan Times)

Billions of dollars in post-sanctions deals ride on Donald Trump’s decisions on Iran. Tehran is counting on European support to keep the nuclear deal alive. (Bloomberg, Al Monitor)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is using Mr. Trump’s election as fuel to claw back power in the country after being sidelined by the Iran deal, which lifted many sanctions but kept them on the IRGC. (Reuters)

The U.S. Senate will vote on renewing sanctions on Iran before ending its session. (Reuters)

The House of Representatives passed new sanctions on Syria. (Al Jazeera)

The EU and U.K. removed two firms from their blacklists. (European Sanctions, press release)

Trump’s NATO Demand Clashes With EU Budgets

By Julian E. Barnes, Richard Boudreaux

Some governments in Europe are bracing for the conflicting demands of two key alliances: the new U.S. administration driving them to ramp up military spending even as the European Union requires that they tighten their budgets.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization calls for its members to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, with a fifth of that going to equipment. There are no sanctions for countries that fail to meet that goal.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said members should do more, according to the NATO chief. “We both underlined the enduring importance of #NATO and increased defence spending,” Mr. Stoltenberg tweeted after a phone call with Mr. Trump.

During his campaign, Mr. Trump suggested military support from the U.S. could be contingent on what its allies spend. Some NATO and Republican Party officials said the Trump administration could step up the pressure by offering more military cooperation to countries that meet the 2% goal, and withholding exercises, training or other support from countries that fall short.

Among European members of NATO, only Greece, the U.K., Estonia and Poland meet the 2% goal. The U.S. spends $664 billion a year on defense, or 3.61% of GDP, according to NATO figures.

Mr. Stoltenberg on Friday thanked Mr. Trump for raising the issue during his election campaign, according to an account of the call provided by the alliance.

The push has support by some NATO members; If every country fulfilled the 2% of GDP spending pledge, allies would have an additional $100 billion a year for new capabilities.

“Let’s listen what was said by the president-elect about defense spending,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, a former NATO ambassador. “He is right to say Europeans are not delivering.” Lithuania has plans to reach the 2% goal in coming years.

Many Western European countries are already facing budget challenges. This week the European Union warned eight countries, including NATO members Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia and Lithuania, that their deficit spending or overall debt was in violation of the bloc rules.

Spain, whose military spending is among the lowest in the alliance, is under extreme pressure to narrow its deficit. The country’s defense budget has grown every year since 2014, the first full year of recovery from a deep recession but now stands at 0.9% of GDP.

Defense Minister María Dolores de Cospedal said this week that Spain is committed to working toward the spending target and strengthening NATO but is constrained by pressure from the European Commission. For Spain to cut its deficit from a projected 3.6% of GDP next year to the 3.1% agreed with Brussels would require an estimated €5.5 billion in spending cuts or new revenue.

“It would be difficult for the government to present defense expenditure as a priority in the coming years because of the economic and social situation,” said Félix Arteaga, a defense analyst at Spain’s Elcano Royal Institute.

Germany, which has a budget surplus but falls short of the 2% target, has raised its military spending and increased the size of its army, specifically citing new demands for NATO missions. But many Germans are skeptical of increased defense spending or a greater military role for the country.

Javier Solana, who was NATO secretary-general from 1995 to 1999, said it would be “difficult but not impossible” for Europe raise its contribution to NATO defense.

But instead of targeting 2% of GDP for conventional military budgets, he said, NATO’s European members should shift defense priorities to assets that can both bolster internal security and provide for the common defense.

“Internal security for the EU and external security are not two separate things; they’re a continuum,” Mr. Solana said. Spending, for example, on such items as intelligence, satellites, drones, cybersecurity, special forces and helicopters would serve both purposes and be easier to sell to lawmakers and voters as essential to the national interest, he said.

Mr. Solana said he considers 2% an arbitrary figure. “What’s important is to have the capability to act,” he said.

Messrs. Trump and Stoltenberg on Friday discussed how NATO could adapt to security challenges, including terrorism, according to the NATO account.

The real problem for Europe isn’t its level of spending, but how it spends it, said Bruno Lété, a defense expert at The German Marshall Fund of the United States in Brussels.

“There’s enough money,” he said. “The problem is that the Europeans have been very ineffective. We have 28 navies, 28 air forces, and 28 armies….The big problem is the issue of unity. There is no unity.”

Efforts to force more cooperation, both in NATO and the EU, have stumbled over disagreements over cost, control and priorities. U.S. officials have said that spending increases that target new equipment, particularly by large economies like Germany, which has a surplus, would be the easiest way to create new capabilities.

–Drew Hinshaw in Zagreb, Croatia, and Laurence Norman and Viktoria Dendrinou in Brussels contributed to this article.

Trump Talks with NATO Chief Stoltenberg

By Laurence Norman, Julian Barnes

BRUSSELS—U.S. President-elect Donald Trump Friday spoke with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who said they agreed on the importance of NATO and the need for increased spending.

In a tweet on his verified account, Mr. Stoltenberg said it had been a “good talk” with Mr. Trump.

“We both underlined the enduring importance of #NATO and increased defence spending,” he said.

The two men also discussed how NATO could adapt to security challenges, including terrorism, according to an account of the call provided by the alliance.

Mr. Stoltenberg has in recent remarks discussed how he shares Mr. Trump’s view that Europe needs to spend more on defense. In the call, Mr. Stoltenberg thanked Mr. Trump for raising the issue during the campaign.

Mr. Trump has questioned the relevance of the NATO military alliance and suggested American military support could be conditional on European military spending. He has also said he wants to improve U.S. relations with Russia. Mr. Stoltenberg had been critical of some of Mr. Trump’s campaign comments.

Mr. Trump also spoke with European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday afternoon, the first contact the president-elect has held with one of the top-ranking EU officials.

The two men spoke for around 10 minutes, according to an EU official. Mr. Tusk repeated his invitation for Mr. Trump to come to Brussels for the next EU-U.S. summit, and the president-elect said he would come to Europe. He invited Mr. Tusk to visit him in Washington before that.

Mr. Tusk raised the issues of Ukraine and the trans-Atlantic partnership with Mr. Trump.

Ukraine, Turkey, Financial Regulation: EU Week Ahead Nov. 21-27

By Laurence Norman

A long-delayed summit with Ukraine, the region’s troubled ties with Turkey and new rules on financial regulation top the events in Brussels next week. Here are five things to watch.

1. The European Union’s leaders will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday and are keen to signal the region’s backing for Kiev, which is dealing with the after-effects of Donald Trump’s election to the White House and a possible shift in U.S. policy towards Russia. The bloc will signal they hope to make swift progress on easing visa free rules for Ukrainians, a key policy goal of Mr. Poroshenko. It will likely also signal it has no plans to ease sanctions on Russia at this point and discuss options to help Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte overcome opposition at home to the EU-Ukraine trade and political pact.

2. The European Parliament will debate EU relations with Turkey with the bloc’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday, including the vexed question of whether to stop accession talks because of the deteriorating rule-of-law and human rights situation in Turkey. The move comes as rhetoric again flared between top EU and Turkish officials. On Thursday, the parliament will pass a non-binding resolution which is likely to be critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

3. On Wednesday the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will unveil a series of packages adjusting rules around the bloc’s existing financial regulation alongside fresh proposals aimed at harmonizing the continent’s insolvency laws. The amendments to existing regulation will allow for the implementation of capital requirements set by global standard setters, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Board, in the wake of the financial crisis. EU financial services chief Valdis Dombrovksis will also announce initiatives to complete the bloc’s capital-markets union, a plan to bolster growth and support small businesses given Europe’s weak economic environment. EU officials say the project has taken on more importance since Brexit and political uncertainty challenges the union.

4. A special conference on airport security in the wake of the Brussels and Istanbul attacks will gather top politicians, aviation and counter-terrorism officials in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday. Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon, the CEOs of Brussels airport and Istanbul airport will take part in the conference, which will include presentations on current terrorist threats and on trends in improving airport security.

5. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be in the European Parliament on Monday evening to discuss the bank’s annual report. The parliament says it will be a chance for lawmakers to quiz the ECB chairman on the “low and geographically uneven growth in the euro area, low inflation rates and the lack of investment in the real economy.”

Ukraine, Turkey, Financial Regulation: EU Week Ahead Nov. 21-27

By Laurence Norman

A long-delayed summit with Ukraine, the region’s troubled ties with Turkey and new rules on financial regulation top the events in Brussels next week. Here are five things to watch.

1. The European Union’s leaders will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday and are keen to signal the region’s backing for Kiev, which is dealing with the after-effects of Donald Trump’s election to the White House and a possible shift in U.S. policy towards Russia. The bloc will signal they hope to make swift progress on easing visa free rules for Ukrainians, a key policy goal of Mr. Poroshenko. It will likely also signal it has no plans to ease sanctions on Russia at this point and discuss options to help Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte overcome opposition at home to the EU-Ukraine trade and political pact.

2. The European Parliament will debate EU relations with Turkey with the bloc’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday, including the vexed question of whether to stop accession talks because of the deteriorating rule-of-law and human rights situation in Turkey. The move comes as rhetoric again flared between top EU and Turkish officials. On Thursday, the parliament will pass a non-binding resolution which is likely to be critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

3. On Wednesday the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will unveil a series of packages adjusting rules around the bloc’s existing financial regulation alongside fresh proposals aimed at harmonizing the continent’s insolvency laws. The amendments to existing regulation will allow for the implementation of capital requirements set by global standard setters, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Board, in the wake of the financial crisis. EU financial services chief Valdis Dombrovksis will also announce initiatives to complete the bloc’s capital-markets union, a plan to bolster growth and support small businesses given Europe’s weak economic environment. EU officials say the project has taken on more importance since Brexit and political uncertainty challenges the union.

4. A special conference on airport security in the wake of the Brussels and Istanbul attacks will gather top politicians, aviation and counter-terrorism officials in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday. Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon, the CEOs of Brussels airport and Istanbul airport will take part in the conference, which will include presentations on current terrorist threats and on trends in improving airport security.

5. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be in the European Parliament on Monday evening to discuss the bank’s annual report. The parliament says it will be a chance for lawmakers to quiz the ECB chairman on the “low and geographically uneven growth in the euro area, low inflation rates and the lack of investment in the real economy.”

Obama, With Merkel in Berlin, Warns Trump Against Cutting Harmful Deals With Putin

By Carol E. Lee, Ruth Bender

BERLIN—President Obama urged Donald Trump to stand up to Russia when necessary as he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to address the inequities of globalization that helped propel the populist tycoon to the White House.

“What unites us is the common conviction that globalization needs to be defined humanely and politically,” Ms. Merkel said after the two leaders met for several hours on Thursday. “There is no turning back from it,” she said, adding that Germany “will continue to cooperate with the new [Trump] administration.”

Mr. Obama said that he and the German chancellor discussed ways to ease economic inequalities that have resulted from globalization and the need to preserve both the global climate-change agreement reached in Paris last year and the deal to restrain Iran’s nuclear program. They also agreed to maintain sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine, the president said.

Mr. Obama, who leaves office in January, and Ms. Merkel, who is expected to run for a fourth term next year but faces a populist insurgency of her own, had planned for months to meet in Berlin this week. But Mr. Trump’s victory has reshaped the focus of their meeting on how to maintain a longtime alliance and shared worldview.

Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel are now seeking to pre-empt the potential short-term fallout from the U.S. election on a range of Western institutions and policies, ranging from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to free trade and the fight against climate change.

“Our countries share a joint responsibility to protect and preserve our way of life,” Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel wrote in a joint opinion piece published Thursday in the German news magazine Wirtschaftswoche.

“It is in this spirit that we are working hard to ensure that international law and norms are respected around the globe—which remains a prerequisite for stability and prosperity,” the leaders wrote in the piece titled “The Future of trans-Atlantic Relations.”

They cited areas where they believed continuity in cooperation between the U.S. and Europe is critical: NATO, the fight against Islamic State terrorism and an approach to the refugee crisis that prioritizes “respect for human dignity,” as well as the Paris climate-change agreement.

Describing U.S.-European relations as “at a crossroads,” the leaders also called for a reshaping of the current approach to globalization and warned against weakening the alliance.

“Simply put: we are stronger when we work together,” they wrote. “At a time when the global economy is evolving more quickly than at any point in human history, and the scope of global challenges has never had higher stakes, such cooperation is now more urgent than ever.”

With Mr. Trump taking over in January, some allies of Ms. Merkel see Germany playing an even greater role in standing up not only to rising populist forces, but also to Russia and China and in keeping the European Union closer together in the wake of Britain’s planned exit.

“Germany now must play an even greater role when it comes to keeping Europe together,” said lawmaker Rolf Mützenich, a foreign-policy specialist for the center-left Social Democrats, who are Ms. Merkel’s junior coalition partners. “I don’t think that Ms. Merkel yearns for this role, but she has no other choice.”

Ms. Merkel hinted at the challenge that awaits her in working with Mr. Trump in her congratulatory note to the president-elect.

She said she would work closely with him based on the basis of the “values of democracy, freedom, and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political views”—an unusual warning from a country scarred by its nationalist past to one of the world’s oldest democracy.

Following the news conference in the German capital, Ms. Merkel will host Mr. Obama for a dinner Thursday night.

Underscoring how close Ms. Merkel and Mr. Obama have become, Mr. Obama invited Ms. Merkel for a private, one-on-one dinner at his hotel Wednesday after he arrived in Berlin. Their aides held a separate dinner.

In an interview Mr. Obama gave to German magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ARD, he praised the chancellor, calling on Germans to back her.

“She stands for great credibility and she is ready to fight for her values. I’m glad she is there and the Germans should value her. At least, I value her as a partner,” he was quoted as saying.

The display of friendship has largely eclipsed the numerous disagreements between the two leaders during Mr. Obama’s two terms, including anger in Germany at the alleged tapping by the U.S. of Ms. Merkel’s cellphone and longstanding U.S. criticism of Germany’s economic policy.

On Friday, Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel will hold a broader meeting with the leaders of France, the U.K., Italy and Spain.

Corrections & Amplifications:

Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel will meet to discuss the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. (Nov. 17, 2016).

Obama and Merkel to Meet on Maintaining Trans-Atlantic Alliance

By Carol E. Lee, Ruth Bender

BERLIN—President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting on Thursday for long-planned talks that have turned into high-stakes strategy sessions on how to maintain a longtime alliance and shared worldview after the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. election.

The election of the Republican businessman, the most striking upset populist victory following the Brexit vote in the U.K. last June, has left Ms. Merkel looking increasingly isolated as a prominent Western leader with a liberal internationalist agenda.

Mr. Obama, who leaves office in January, and Ms. Merkel, who is expected to run for a fourth term next year, but is facing a populist insurgency of her own, had planned for months to meet in Berlin this week. But Mr. Trump’s victory has reshaped the focus of their meetings.

The two leaders are now seeking to pre-empt the potential short-term fallout from the U.S. election on a range of western institutions and policies, ranging from NATO to free trade and the fight against climate change.

“Our countries share a joint responsibility to protect and preserve our way of life,” Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel wrote in a joint opinion piece published Thursday in Wirtschaftswoche, a German news magazine.

“It is in this spirit that we are working hard to ensure that international law and norms are respected around the globe—which remains a prerequisite for stability and prosperity,” the leaders wrote in the piece titled “The Future of trans-Atlantic Relations.”

They cite areas where they believe continuity in cooperation between the U.S. and Europe is critical: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the fight against Islamic State terrorism and an approach to the refugee crisis that prioritizes “respect for human dignity,” as well as the international climate change agreement.

Describing U.S.-European relations as “at a crossroads,” the leaders also called for a reshaping of the current approach to globalization and warned against weakening the alliance.

“Simply put: we are stronger when we work together,” they wrote. “ At a time when the global economy is evolving more quickly than at any point in human history, and the scope of global challenges has never had higher stakes, such cooperation is now more urgent than ever.”

With Mr. Trump taking over in January, some allies of Ms. Merkel see Germany playing an even greater role in standing up not only to rising populist forces but also to Russia and China and in keeping the European Union closer together in the wake of Britain’s planned exit.

“Germany now must play an even greater role when it comes to keeping Europe together,” said lawmaker Rolf Mützenich, a foreign-policy specialist for the center-left Social Democrats, who are Ms. Merkel’s junior coalition partners. “I don’t think that Ms. Merkel yearns for this role, but she has no other choice.”

Ms. Merkel hinted at the challenge that awaits her in working with Mr. Trump in her congratulatory note to the president-elect.

She said she would work closely with Mr. Trump based on the basis of the “values of democracy, freedom, and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political views”—an unusual warning from a country scarred by its nationalist past to one of the world’s oldest democracy.

Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel are holding formal talks Thursday, followed by a joint press conference. Ms. Merkel will also host Mr. Obama for a dinner Thursday night.

Besides the future of trans-Atlantic relationships, the two on Thursday will discuss how to deal with Russia, the Ukraine crisis and the civil war in Syria, as well as the fight against international terrorism and trade pacts, a spokesperson for Ms. Merkel said.

Underscoring how close the two leaders have become, Mr. Obama invited Ms. Merkel for a private, one-on-one dinner at his hotel Wednesday after he arrived in Berlin. Their aides held a separate dinner.

In an interview Mr. Obama gave to German magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ARD, he praised the chancellor, calling on Germans to back her.

“She stands for great credibility and she is ready to fight for her values. I’m glad she is there and the Germans should value her. At least, I value her as a partner,” he was quoted as saying.

The display of friendship has largely eclipsed the numerous disagreements between the two leaders during Mr. Obama’s two terms, including anger in Germany at the alleged tapping by the U.S. of Ms. Merkel’s cellphone and longstanding U.S. criticism of Germany’s economic policy.

On Friday, Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel will hold a broader meeting with the leaders of France, the U.K., Italy and Spain.

Corrections & Amplifications:

Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel will meet to discuss the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. (Nov. 17, 2016).

NATO, Europe Urge No Compromise With Russia Over Ukraine

By Julian E. Barnes

BRUSSELS—America’s European allies are insisting that the West must not compromise on its principles or weaken its support for Ukraine, in response to a call this week between President-Elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Trump’s comments during the election campaign about seeking a better relationship with Russia rattled Eastern European officials. Those worries were accentuated with a Kremlin report of a Monday phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin that said the two leaders agreed on a collaborative dialogue based on “principles of equality, mutual respect and noninterference.”

Diplomats have said Kremlin requests for noninterference amount to a demand of a recognition of a Russian sphere of influence in the countries of the former Soviet Union, most important Ukraine.

Germany, which has had a growing role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in recent years, has long pushed to balance the alliance’s steps to deter Russia with more dialogue.

On Tuesday, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Mr. Trump’s desire for dialogue was “completely understandable,” but she issued a pointed reminder that “it’s also important not to forget our principles,” noting Russia’s annexation of Crimea and what she called its hybrid war in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Mr. Trump’s call to Mr. Putin was “a very normal thing.” Mr. Stoltenberg said NATO for months has been emphasizing that it wants dialogue. But he too noted that the alliance wouldn‘t accept the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

“There is no contradiction between strong defense and political dialogue,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “We think it is important to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations, including Ukraine.”

President Barack Obama, at a news conference before his last foreign trip as president, said Mr. Trump had told him he was interested in “maintaining our core strategic relationships.” Mr. Obama said he would tell foreign leaders “there is no weakening of resolve when it comes to America’s commitment to maintaining a strong and robust NATO.”

Mr. Stoltenberg on Tuesday said he shared Mr. Trump’s view that Europe must spend more on defense and said he expected the new president to continue the U.S. role in NATO

“I am certain he will be a president of the United States who will live up to all the commitments of the United States in the alliance,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.

NATO, Europe Urge No Compromise With Russia Over Ukraine

By Julian E. Barnes

BRUSSELS—America’s European allies are insisting that the West must not compromise on its principles or weaken its support for Ukraine, in response to a call this week between President-Elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Trump’s comments during the election campaign about seeking a better relationship with Russia rattled Eastern European officials. Those worries were accentuated with a Kremlin report of a Monday phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin that said the two leaders agreed on a collaborative dialogue based on “principles of equality, mutual respect and noninterference.”

Diplomats have said Kremlin requests for noninterference amount to a demand of a recognition of a Russian sphere of influence in the countries of the former Soviet Union, most important Ukraine.

Germany, which has had a growing role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in recent years, has long pushed to balance the alliance’s steps to deter Russia with more dialogue.

On Tuesday, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Mr. Trump’s desire for dialogue was “completely understandable,” but she issued a pointed reminder that “it’s also important not to forget our principles,” noting Russia’s annexation of Crimea and what she called its hybrid war in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Mr. Trump’s call to Mr. Putin was “a very normal thing.” Mr. Stoltenberg said NATO for months has been emphasizing that it wants dialogue. But he too noted that the alliance wouldn‘t accept the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

“There is no contradiction between strong defense and political dialogue,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “We think it is important to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations, including Ukraine.”

President Barack Obama, at a news conference before his last foreign trip as president, said Mr. Trump had told him he was interested in “maintaining our core strategic relationships.” Mr. Obama said he would tell foreign leaders “there is no weakening of resolve when it comes to America’s commitment to maintaining a strong and robust NATO.”

Mr. Stoltenberg on Tuesday said he shared Mr. Trump’s view that Europe must spend more on defense and said he expected the new president to continue the U.S. role in NATO

“I am certain he will be a president of the United States who will live up to all the commitments of the United States in the alliance,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.